


Fatherhood

by Janamelie



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 10:33:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5087350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janamelie/pseuds/Janamelie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of "Dear Dave", Lister finds another letter.</p><p>This is a remix of "The Rest Of Life" by Veronica Rich, but a continuation rather than a retelling. http://archiveofourown.org/works/746363</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fatherhood

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Rest of Life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/746363) by [VeronicaRich](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeronicaRich/pseuds/VeronicaRich). 



> Written for the Red Dwarf Fic Remix Fest.
> 
> Thanks to LordValeryMimes for the invaluable last minute beta. :)

"What an absolute slag!"

The words made him feel better for approximately three minutes.  Then he took in the fact that Cat had already lost interest and drifted over to the fridge.  Kryten's bemused silence.  And most of all, Rimmer's undisguised glee.

"Have a heart, man.  I'm suffering here."

He was startled at the depth of the irritation that flashed in the greenish eyes.  "Oh, here we go again.  Me, me, me.  Mope, mope, mope.  Have you bothered to think about anyone else lately?"

"What?  That's rich coming from someone who's just handed over all the bog rolls to a smegging computer so he won't get demoted!"

"Not all of them, Listy.   Just the thousands of superfluous ones.  Not even you could ever get through all of them.  It's not my fault Kryten went a little overboard."

They both instinctively turned towards the mechanoid, who raised his arms in a "Don't look at me!" gesture.   Cat slinked quietly out of the room.

"Why were you so bothered about it, anyway?  None of that smeg means anything anymore."

"I could say the same to you,"  Rimmer retorted, an edge of real anger to his voice.

"What?!  I could've been a Dad!  What the smeg's wrong with you?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong, miladdo.  One, you already are one.  Two, you're still obsessing over Kochanski.  Three, you lost me in a poker game."  Lister opened his mouth, but no words would come.  "Four, did it ever occur to you that maybe you're not the only one who wishes he'd left some kind of legacy?"

The hologram started to stalk towards the doorway.  Lister grabbed his elbow.  "Oh no, you don't.  You wanna talk?  Let's talk."

Rimmer turned to face him, his cheeks flushed.  "Where to start?"

"I can't believe you're still going on about the BEGGs.  I told ya, I didn't think they meant it.  I was drunk!"

"That's your excuse for everything, isn't it?  Then why are you still obsessed with finding someone who doesn't want you when you've got..."  Rimmer tailed off and glanced to where Kryten had last been.  Neither had noticed him leave.

"It's not like that!  Not anymore.  I'm just worried about her.  I'd do the same for you."

"I can't give you children," Rimmer said quietly, the anger gone from his voice.

"What?  I don't want you to, smeghead!"

"You've always wanted kids.  Even though you already have them."

Lister swallowed down nausea.  "I don't want to talk about them.  They're dead."   Despite himself, a memory of two brown-eyed boys floated into his brain.

"You don't know that, Lister.  If you can go into stasis or deep sleep, why can't they?"

"I just don't ... anyway, what's all this "legacy" stuff?  I never thought you wanted kids."

"Not when I was alive, no.  I've had more than enough time since to reconsider.  It ... could have been good."

They stood looking at each other, then Rimmer moved away.  "I'll be in the cargo decks."

 

 

 

"You need to bear in mind how insecure Mr Rimmer is, sir.  And it sounds as though your - ah - pregnancy scare has affected him too."

Lister mentally kicked himself for not noticing.  Now that he thought about it, the venom in the hologram's "Never mind, THIRD Technician!" hadn't been just their customary back-and-forth.  His stupid drunken bet had clearly caused more cracks in their tentatively budding relationship than he'd realised.

"I had no idea he wanted kids.  He's never mentioned it before."

"Perhaps the events of the last few hours have stirred things up, sir."

"No kidding.  Why couldn't he say something before?  I'm not a smegging mind reader."

 

 

He collected a sugar-silted coffee from Number 34, pausing to gently parry her flirtations.  He really wanted to crawl into a vat of lager, but the memory of Rimmer's face after his last bender combined with the accusation he'd just hurled at him stopped him.  His brain was still whirling between confusion, guilt, hurt and anger.

Needing a distraction - any distraction - he started sifting through the heap of letters which was still on the table, searching for a name he even vaguely recognised.  Brown?  Just boring officer stuff.  McGruder?

**_That_ ** _McGruder?_

The clear, confident signature confirmed it.  Yvonne, the officer Rimmer had ... well.  They'd never really discussed it after the early days.

The letter was addressed to a Ramona Beezley.  He scanned it casually until he hit a paragraph which made him blink.

_"I went for my five month scan a few days ago and everything's fine.  It's a boy."_

So that was why she'd left the ship?  She'd got up the duff?

_"No, I haven't changed my mind about telling him.  A man who doesn't have the guts to talk things through after sleeping with me isn't one I want around my kid.  And you saw him in the club, cowering behind his friend.  The more I think about it, the more sense this makes._

_I'm not going to slag him off_ _to Michael, though.  (Yeah, I decided on a name!)  I'll tell him something that doesn't make him feel like a mistake.  Firstly because no kid deserves that and secondly because he's not.  I've chosen to have him and I'm going to give him the best life I can."_

What? No, it couldn't be...

He read and reread the letter, but the rest was about her new life and work colleagues on Miranda.  Surely...

He dredged his memories.  Had he and Rimmer encountered her in a club?  Given the amount he used to drink on shore leave, he could be forgiven for forgetting.  He did remember her, though.  Pretty brunette, officer - she was kind of his type.

A vague memory of fixing a vending machine for her flashed into his brain.  Yeah, she'd wanted chocolate.  Girl after his own heart.

She'd seemed more interested in Rimmer though, he had to admit.  He'd teased him about it afterwards.

Smeg knew how the rumours had started -  it wasn't like either of them had broadcast it at first.   Rimmer's subsequent bravado about "giving her one" had made it easy to assume the worst.  He'd never actually believed it though.

Despite that, it was still reassuring to read her own words on the matter.  The disdain she clearly felt for Rimmer could have been far worse.

_So - Rimmer's a Dad?_

 

 

"Here we are, Sir.  Lieutenant Yvonne McGruder, mapping officer with Red Dwarf for four years.  Requested a transfer due to pregnancy and resettled on Miranda."

"There's definitely no-one else with that name?"

"No, sir."

"I don't know what to do."  Lister paced back and forth.  "I've gotta tell him, haven't I?"

"I'd certainly advise that, sir."

"It might drive him round the bend though - not knowing for sure."

"The dates match up, sir.  Just over five months between the postmark on the letter and March 16th which is when you say they ... ahem.  And the description in the letter does sound..."

Lister barked a short laugh.  "Yeah, that's the smegger we know and love.  Back then, anyway."  



End file.
